George W. Bodenheimer

George Bodenheimer is an ESPN and cable industry pioneer and, as the company's longest-tenured President (13 years, 1998-Dec. 31, 2011), he led an unprecedented period of global growth. He oversaw all multimedia sports assets of The Walt Disney Company from March 3, 2003 - December 31, 2011 and was co-chairman, Disney Media Networks from April 20, 2004 - December 31, 2011. In January 2012, he assumed the position of Executive Chairman, ESPN, Inc. In that capacity, he provided strategic direction for ESPN's global business until he chose to leave the company May 31, 2014. From December 18, 2017, into March 2018, Bodenheimer returned to the company as Acting Chair to provide interim leadership as ESPN identified Jimmy Pitaro as the successor to John Skipper. In 2015 Bodenheimer published a business leadership memoir, Every Town Is a Sports Town: Business Leadership at ESPN, from the Mailroom to the Boardroom. He joined the faculty at Iona College in 2017 in the School of Business divis